The Activities of ASTM Committee E-7 on Nondestructive Testing

It is the purpose of this paper to present in brief certain historical and organizational background material pertaining to ASTM Committee E-7 on Nondestructive Testing; it is hoped that this material will assist in placing in perspective the information to be presented by other contributors to this session. Thus the entire group of presentations may cohere in a complete picture of the committee's niche in ASTM structure. Historically, the committee was organized in the late 1930's, following the presentation, at the 1936 Annual Meeting of the Society, of the first Symposium on Radiography. The interest aroused by and evinced in this symposium indicated a need for further activities in the radiographic field within the Society, and the committee was officially organized in 1938 under the chairmanship of the late H. H. Lester, of Watertown Arsenal. Mr. Lester had been a prime mover in the organization of both symposium and committee; he remained as chairman for ten years and was a most active member even after retiring from the chair; his activity continued, in fact, until his recent untimely death. The original scope of the committee is indicated by its initial designation as Committee E-7 on Radiographic Testing. Its Executive Council, or steering committee, felt in those years that a primary need existed for the dissemination of knowledge concerning radiography; hence its major activity in early years was directed toward “promotion of knowledge and advancement of the art” of radiography through the sponsorship of technical papers and symposia. The need for development of standard methods and procedures was not ignored, however; one of the early activities was the preparation and publication of the now superseded Radiographic Testing of Metal Casting (E 15); the Navy's set of standard radiographs of steel castings was adopted as the Society's first set of reference radiographs, now designated E 71; and an Industrial Radiographic Terminology, E 52, was developed and published.